ANDREA JENKYNS
Weekly Round up 3rd-8th September

It has been a full week in the constituency. September is a moment to reinvest the positive energy piled up during the summer.

It was a pleasure for me to have seen so many people interested in coming to my jobs fair, held on Friday in Morley Town Hall. I’d like to thank all the employers and organisations involved for their contribution and all the residents who participated. I am a strong supporter of social mobility and it was inspiring to see so many young people eager to find their first job, and many others looking to regain employment. The UK is seeing its lowest unemployment rate (4.0% in June) since 1975, a rise of productivity (+ 1.5%) and a growth of wages (+2.7% compared with a year ago) according to the ONS. In Morley and Outwood the number of claimants has fallen from 2,058 in 2010 to only 715 today, and I hope that the Jobs Fair was a useful opportunity to ensure that everyone that wants a job can get one.

Also on Friday, I visited with the Secretary of State for Transport, Chris Grayling, the site of the White Rose Railway Station. This ambitious project will not only deliver a modern and accessible railway station for the residents of the Morley North ward, but it will also bring a full redevelopment of the area, taking cars off the road, creating new jobs and providing new services for the residents. Chris and I were impressed by the plan and it was a pleasure to see a fruitful synergy between the landowners, the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, the West Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce and the White Rose Centre. It’s with this positive, can-do attitude that the public and private sector can improve the lives of local residents.

Chris also had the chance to meet with members of the Morley and Outwood Conservatives, to discuss railway issues locally, Brexit and campaign days. The Secretary of State has been in regular contact with Transport for the North, Network Rail and Northern Rail during these months and guaranteed that every single train will be replaced or refurbished as part of the new Northern and Transpennine franchises. He also agreed that our party needs to deliver the Brexit that most of our voters opted for.

On Saturday morning I was in Wrenthorpe and Outwood for two coffee mornings. The volunteers at Wrenthorpe Methodist Hall were funding church initiatives, including a trip to Uganda to help local communities. In Outwood Memorial Hall, funds were raised for the Wakefield Hospice, which I visited earlier this spring. I would like to thank all the people involved for selflessly offering their time to improve our community.